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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 3156 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3156) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Action ItemsMeeting Date: 10/1/2012 Summary Title: Council Priority Setting Process Title: Policy and Services Committee Recommendations for Annual Council Priority Setting Process From: City Manager Lead Department: City Manager Recommendation The Policy and Services Committee recommends that the City Council approve the definition of a Council priority and the Council priority setting guidelines as provided in Attachment A. Background At the City Council’s Annual Retreat on January 21, 2012, the Council referred to the Policy and Services Committee the task of reviewing the definition of a Council priority and any recommended changes to the priority setting process. At its meetings on April 10, 2012 and July 10, 2012, the Policy & Services Committee discussed the priority setting process and directed staff to prepare the Council priority setting procedures based on the Committee’s recommendations. The staff reports and action minutes are included in this staff report as Attachment B. Past Practice The City Council adopted its first Council priorities in 1986. The establishment of Council priorities originated from Council’s desire to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making. It was envisioned that Council priorities should denote issues that are important matters to the community and that warrant an intensified effort during the fiscal year. It was further believed by designating a priority, Council sends a message to the organization and the community that heightened attention and resources are to be directed toward the issue. Each year the City Council reviews the priorities at its Annual Retreat. The process for establishing the priorities has ranged from more formal processes of Council submitting priorities and scoring proposals to more informal reviews and discussions at Council Retreats. In past years, the objectives and milestones that reflect the work necessary to fulfill the priorities have also been reviewed and established by the City Council either at their Annual Retreat, by recommendation of the Policy and Services Committee or proposed by staff for Council consideration. Staff also found in its review of prior year’s priority setting processes that from 2002-2007 several staff reports indicate that the City Manager and the City Council agreed on the following assumptions regarding the Council’s priorities: 1. If everything is a priority, nothing is. 2. Major priorities require multi-years to achieve efforts. 3. The City’s budget must reflect the Council’s priorities. 4. Staff will provide Council with reports on success factors/milestones to ensure accountability. 5. Council and staff must communicate on a regular basis through a variety of means, and let the community know the status of the top priorities. 6. Council and staff need to avoid adding new projects and activities to the “full plate.” This is a joint responsibility of Council and top management to keep from having attention diverted from priorities. It is important to recognize that 90% of the departments’ work is not on the list of priorities. 7. If the Council adds new projects and activities during the year, it is the responsibility of the City Manager to clearly indicate the impact on the top priorities and the ongoing workload. Additional policy direction in past years has included: 1) focus on a limited number of priorities, 2) align review of Council priorities to the two-year budget cycle, and 3) include primarily multi- year initiatives. Discussion The Policy and Services Committee directed staff to prepare a Council Priority Setting Process that includes the following components and timeline. For ease of future reference, the Council priority definition, priority setting guidelines and timeline are consolidated in Attachment A. City Council Priority Setting Guidelines. Definition of a Council Priority A Council priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year. Purpose of Establishing Council Priorities The establishment of Council priorities will assist the Council and staff to better allot and utilize time for discussion and decision making. Process 1. Three months in advance of the annual Council Retreat, staff will solicit input from the City Council on the priorities to be reviewed and considered for the following year. a. Council members may submit up to three priorities. b. Priorities must be submitted no later than December 1. c. As applicable, the City Manager will contact newly elected officials for their input by December 1. d. Additional priorities may not be brought to the Council Retreat. 2. Staff will collect and organize the recommended priorities into a list for Council consideration, and provide to Council no less than two weeks in advance of the retreat. 3. The Policy and Services Committee, each year at its December meeting, shall make recommendations about the process that will be used at the Annual Retreat paying particular attention to the number of priorities suggested by Council members. The recommended process is to be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council retreat. It is important to note, that the Policy and Services Committee may review the list of priorities that Council members submit for the purposes of discussing the recommended process that is forwarded to Council for consideration. However, to ensure compliance with the Brown Act, review and discussion of the priorities should be taken up at the Annual Retreat, which is a noticed meeting of the full Council. Guidelines for Selection of Priorities 1. There is a goal of no more than three priorities per year. 2. Priorities have a three year time limit. Timeline Milestone Date Staff solicits input from Council October Council submits priorities (including any new members) December 1 (no later than) Staff organizes recommended priorities for December P&S Committee meeting Early December P&S Committee meeting to discuss & make recommendations about the priority setting process Early December Council receives recommended list of Council priorities and considers P&S Committee’s recommendations for the priority setting process Early January City Council’s Annual Retreat Mid-January Attachments:  Attachment A. Prioritization Guidelines and Schedule (PDF)  Attachment B. 7-10 & 4-10-2012 Policy and Services Staff Report and Minutes (PDF) Prepared By: Sheila Tucker, Assistant to the City Manager Department Head: James Keene, City Manager City Manager Approval: ____________________________________ James Keene, City Manager Attachment A City of Palo Alto City Council Priority Setting Guidelines Approved by City Council: Last revised: Background The City Council adopted its first Council priorities in 1986. Each year the City Council reviews it’s priorities at its Annual Council Retreat. On ______the City Council formally adopted the definition of a council priority, and the Council’s process and guidelines for selection of priorities. Definition A Council priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year. Purpose The establishment of Council priorities will assist the Council and staff to better allot and utilize time for discussion and decision making. Process 1. Three months in advance of the annual Council Retreat, staff will solicit input from the City Council on the priorities to be reviewed and considered for the following year. a. Council members may submit up to three priorities. b. Priorities must be submitted no later than December 1. c. As applicable, the City Manager will contact newly elected officials for their input by December 1. d. Additional priorities may not be brought to the Council Retreat. 2. Staff will collect and organize the recommended priorities into a list for Council consideration, and provide to Council no less than two weeks in advance of the retreat. 3. The Policy and Services Committee, each year at its December meeting, shall make recommendations about the process that will be used at the Annual Retreat paying particular attention to the number of priorities suggested by Council members. The recommended process is to be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council retreat. Guidelines for Selection of Priorities 1. There is a goal of no more than three priorities per year. 2. Priorities have a three year time limit. City of Palo Alto City Council Priority Setting Schedule Last Updated: 8/17/2012 City of Palo Alto (ID # 3002) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Report Type: Meeting Date: 7/10/2012 July 10, 2012 Page 1 of 2 (ID # 3002) Summary Title: Council Priority Setting Process Title: Council Priority Setting Process From: City Manager Lead Department: City Manager Recommendation Review the definition of a Council priority and the changes to the Council priority setting process and consider recommending approval to the City Council. Background At the City Council’s Annual Retreat on January 21, 2012, the City Council referred to the Policy and Services Committee the task of reviewing the definition of a Council priority and recommending any changes to the priority setting process. On April 10, 2012 the Policy & Services Committee discussed the priority setting process and directed staff to (a) prepare the Council priority setting procedures based on the Committee’s recommendations and (b) return to the Committee prior to returning to Council for approval. Discussion At its meeting on April 10, 2012, the Policy & Services Committee reviewed background information provided by staff on the City Council’s priority setting process, past practice and key assumptions, and the City Council’s discussion at the Annual Retreat on the priority setting process. The staff report that supported this discussion is included as Attachment A. The Policy & Services Committee directed staff to prepare the Council Priority Setting Process that includes the following: 1. A context statement prior to the definition of a priority. 2. A definition of a priority as an issue or topic which will receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year. 1 Packet Pg. 3 July 10, 2012 Page 2 of 2 (ID # 3002) 3. A goal of no more than three priorities per year. 4. A three year time limit on any one priority. 5. A fixed list of topics to consider at the Retreat. In addition, the Policy and Services Committee is to establish the process of soliciting and integrating input from all Council Members on an equal basis, beginning three months before the January Retreat. To ensure compliance with the Brown Act, the Policy & Services Committee may request Council members’ input on the priorities to be considered at the Annual Retreat. However, the review and the discussion of input should take place by all Council members at a full Council meeting. The Policy and Services Committee may also make recommendations to the City Council about the design of the process and the Council review of priorities that is conducted each year at the Retreat. Attachment B provides the draft action minutes from the April 10, 2012 Policy & Services Committee meeting. Attachment C provides the draft Council Priority Setting Process for the Committee’s review and to consider recommending approval to Council. Attachments:  -: Attachment A. 4-10-2012 Policy and Services Staff Report (PDF)  -: Attachment A. 4-10-2012 Staff Report (PDF)  -: Attachment B. 4-10-2012 Policy and Services Action Minutes (PDF)  -: Attachment B. Policy and Services Action Minutes 4-10-2012 (DOC)  -: Attachment C. Council Priority Setting Process (DOCX)  -: Attachment C. Council Priority Setting Process (PDF) Prepared By: Sheila Tucker, Assistant to the City Manager Department Head: James Keene, City Manager City Manager Approval: ____________________________________ James Keene, City Manager 1 Packet Pg. 4 Policy and Services Committee EXCERPT MINUTES Page 1 of 17 Special Meeting July 10, 2012 Council Priority Setting Process Sheila Tucker, Assistant to the City Manager spoke regarding the Council priority setting procedures. As directed by the Policy and Services Committee (Committee) Staff had completed the Committee’s recommended changes and outlined them in Attachment C of the Staff Report. Some additions had been made to the process at the advice of the City Attorney to accommodate compliance to the Brown Act. Council Member Klein said the Definition should be “A Council Priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year” versus the more lengthy definition listed in Attachment C. He had concerns regarding the definition section. He suggested limiting the definitions to a single sentence as a Council priority was a topic that would receive particular, unusual, and significant action during the year. Council Member Espinosa agreed with the suggested language. Chair Holman asked if the language; by establishing a priority the Council sends a message to the organization, should be moved to a different section. Council Member Klein said he did not feel the paragraph was necessary as a definition as what a priority was. MOTION: Council Member Klein moved, seconded by Council Member Espinosa to change the definition of a priority to “A Council Priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year.” Council Member Klein questioned the statement listed under Process, 1a, “All Council Members will have the opportunity for equal input on the priorities for consideration.” That statement was always true and it did not need to be listed. Council Member Espinosa explained there had been conversations about whether the priority setting would happen at the Committee or Council level. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 2 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 That statement was designed to ensure, if the process was moved to the Committee level, the discussion would go back to Council and all Council Members had a chance to participate. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER: to change the language under the header Process on Item 1B to “Staff will collect and organize Council Members input into a fixed list to be provided to the Council no less than a week in advance of the Council Retreat”. Council Member Klein was uncertain of the process between the Committee and Staff. He was not clear if the Committee was shaping the list or merely providing suggestions to the Staff. He asked what was meant by the statement “the Committee would initiate Council input on the priorities.” Ms. Tucker said Staff understood the role of initiating the process, providing feedback, and could make recommendations on how the process was designed during the retreat. Council Member Schmid mentioned the Staff Report identified the Brown Act as placing limitations on what the Committee could do. Ms. Tucker said the Committee could collect information from the Council but should not have discussions regarding the collected data. Chair Holman understood the Brown Act compliance in this particular case was that Staff should collect the Council responses, not the Committee. She questioned Item 1a which read “all Council Members had the opportunity for equal input on the priorities for consideration”. There were no specifics detailing the when, how, to whom, or in what form Council input was submitted. Item 1b was not precise about which department would collect the responses. The report noted Staff would collect and organize Council input into a priority list to be provided to the Council in no less than a week prior to the retreat. She suggested a timeframe of two weeks because of the holiday schedule. She felt at least two Council Members should be needed to make a recommendation for a priority. Ms. Tucker said in late 2011 when the initial process discussion went before the Committee it was suggested they provide how they wished to handle the process. Staff had returned with those suggestions but had not included details as to how to move forward. Returning to the Committee now was to receive the detail. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 3 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Chair Holman said if the intention for setting the process for priorities was meant to be seen three months in advance the Council could not see the information in November. Ms. Tucker specified the current process was that Staff worked with Mayor on how prioritization was done at the retreat. The change would be that Staff would work with the Committee instead. Chair Holman believed formalizing the process would benefit the Staff and Council as a whole since the position of Mayor changed annually. Council Member Espinosa wanted to clarify there were four steps in the process; 1) Staff would collect ideas for both priorities and process three months before the retreat from all Council Members, 2) the suggested priorities would go before the Committee to set the process and decide whether or not to make recommendations on the priority ideas, 3) no less than a week before the retreat the recommendations on process and potential narrowing of priorities would be sent to the Council, and 4) at the end of the process, the Committee would evaluate and reconsider the entire process to determine if any changes should be made. He said the key issue was the Committee would be setting the process and narrowing the list of priorities. The part of the process where Staff collected the individual Council ideas then provided them to the Committee for review was where the concern arose because at that point the Committee would be reviewing all of the ideas from all of the Council Members. Ms. Tucker said the role of the Committee should be limited to recommendations about the priority process. Council Member Espinosa disagreed. Ms. Tucker clarified the first step of the Committee soliciting priorities and ideas about the process. The report currently read the Committee makes recommendations about the priorities not necessarily the process. Council Member Klein noted there were several policy decisions to discuss prior to rewording. The first decision was whether the Committee should sculpt the list of Council Member priority suggestions versus providing them all to Council for consideration. He did not feel that was an appropriate role for the Committee. He questioned whether additional items would be eligible at the retreat. He disagreed. He did not feel the proposal of at least two Council Members submitting an idea in order for it to be considered was a valid suggestion. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 4 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Council Member Schmid supposed there were two separate steps involved; 1) being what recommendation the Committee wished to present to the Council and 2) questions to address. Suggested questions 1) how many recommendations can each Council Member make, 2) should there be a sense of size and scale or limit of word count, and 3) from whom does the Committee collect the ideas. He recommended part of the definitions be; 1) the newly elected Council Members be invited to participate in the process, 2) restrict the number of priority suggestions to three from each Council Member, and 3) the priority be limited to 200 words. He suggested the definition include an invitation for newly elected Council Members to participate. Council Member Klein felt a 200 word count was too high. Council Member Schmid noted the ideas should be listed in categories. He asked if the Staff or the Committee should be selecting the categories. The Committee and Staff should reconvene in October to review the suggestions the Committee may have regarding the process for the retreat knowing what the proposed priorities would be. Council Member Espinosa was intrigued by limiting the number of proposed ideas but felt three was too few, perhaps five. He had concerns reaching out to Council Candidates but had no issue asking their thoughts once they had been sworn in. He asked Council Member Klein why he felt the Committee should not be responsible for narrowing the collective list of proposed priority ideas. Council Member Klein defended the full Council should be able to participate in the process of viewing all of the ideas. He compared the process to the budget season where the Finance Committee reviewed the numbers and made recommendations but the full Council had the ability to make collective changes. Council Member Espinosa asked how this would differ. If the Committee reviewed the ideas, narrowed the selection, and made recommendations to the full Council it was the same as the budget reference. Council Member Klein said if all the Committee was being requested to do was review the items and make a recommendation it would be the same. Council Member Espinosa explained his thought process was whether there was a role the Committee could play in narrowing the proposed ideas and making a recommendation to the full Council. He understood that idea was not acceptable to all. He felt it was reasonable to have the Committee review EXCERPT MINUTES Page 5 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 all of the ideas and narrow them. If the Committee members were not soliciting responses but Staff asked the full Council for recommendations, the recommendations would return to Staff and Staff would present them to the Committee, would there be a Brown Act violation. Molly Stump, City Attorney said the concern was if Council Members were polled outside of a Council meeting and input was gathered then discussed in a Committee meeting that was not noticed as a meeting of the full Council there would be a Brown Act violation. There was no problem when the Council as a whole was debating on an issue then directed a Committee to address the recommendations or changes. This situation was not implicit of that scenario. The situation at hand was where individual Council Members gave substantive contributions to the Committee process through writing opposed to them being present. Chair Holman said the example of the budget differed because the input was from the Staff and reviewed by the Finance Committee to recommend to the full Council. Council Member Klein said one of the unintended consequences of the Brown Act was in some ways it provided a superior position to the Staff. Ms. Stump agreed that was an accurate observation. The Brown Act did at times provide Staff latitude to do things that other Council Members could not. Council Member Schmid asked what the process would be if a number of nominations were entered which overlapped in their characteristics. He asked if the Committee could group all of those nominations into a single category versus eliminating some of them. Chair Holman understood the concept of categorizing similar items but combining them into one topic may not satisfy the intention of the author. Council Member Schmid said if characterizing them in some fashion did not occur the final vote would be fragmented. Chair Holman thought that would be vetted at the retreat. Ms. Stump noted a lot of what was being discussed was not in the realm of the limited question of the law in the Brown Act. Some of the comments were of a legal piece but it was the most productive way for the Committee to work. From a Brown Act perspective it would be fine if Council Members brought their suggestions to a full Council meeting then granted the EXCERPT MINUTES Page 6 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Committee editing ability. She asked if the Committee was satisfied with that type of structure. Council Member Klein was unclear about how that was different than sending them directly to Council which did not make sense from a Brown Act perspective. Chair Holman suggested splitting the Motion into sections. She asked Council Member Klein is there were corrections to the background in his Motion. Council Member Klein stated he had no corrections to the background of his Motion. Chair Holman said the Motion on the table was “priorities would receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year” was that correct. Council Member Klein stated that was correct. He accepted the idea that Council Member Schmid had raised three questions that should be addressed and added to the initial three questions for a total of six. Chair Holman said the Motion was set for the background and definitions. She proposed an Amendment to insert into the definitions “By establishing a priority Council sends a message to the organization to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making” insert the language as a new section titled Purpose. Council Member Espinosa asked if the referenced organization was the City Staff. Chair Holman stated yes. She believed the new language supported the definition. Council Member Schmid asked if the Amendment was to add a second heading under Definition as Purpose. Chair Holman said yes. Council Member Schmid said with that change one of the sentences had been misplaced from Definitions and placed under Purposes. He agreed with that change. Chair Holman said that was correct. She looked toward the Maker for acceptance and noted she was open to edits. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 7 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Council Member Klein felt the language was redundant. He suggested defining the term organization because he thought it was referring to non- profits and not to City Staff. Chair Holman clarified the change was from “organization” to Staff” and now read “By establishing a priority Council sends a message to the organization City Staff to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making”. Council Member Klein mentioned the redundancy in the Definition section was between “The topic will receive particular attention throughout the year by establishing a priority question to city staff that will attract heightened attention to city resources.” and “The establishment of Council priorities will assist the Council to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making.” Priorities are issues that are important matters to the community that warrant an intensified effort during the fiscal year. By designating a priority, Council sends a message to the organization and the community to direct heightened attention and resources toward the issue. A Council priority is defined as a topic that will “receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year”. The Amendment language was “By establishing a priority Council sends a message to the City Staff to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making” inserted as a new section titled Purpose. He accepted the language as defined under Purpose beneath Definition. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER: to add a section under Definitions titled Purpose and include the language “By establishing a priority Council sends a message to the City Staff to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making”. Chair Holman confirmed Purpose was the second paragraph under Definition to read as: DEFINITION: A Council priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year. PURPOSE: The establishing of Council priorities will assist the Council and City Manager Staff to better allot and utilize time for discussion and decision making. Chair Holman asked to review the four steps suggested by Council Member Espinosa. She said she wasn’t sure that they focused on criteria. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 8 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Council Member Espinosa acknowledged his suggestion was on the process side but there were criteria issues raised; such as the recommendation on the number of ideas per Council Member and the length for each. Chair Holman viewed criteria as the activity that happened at the retreat opposed to the number of priorities a Council Member could submit. She did not feel the definition of Criteria was the right word for the purpose being discussed. She suggested it could change to “retrieve criteria.” Ms. Tucker said it was intended to guide Council’s review at the retreat. Council Member Klein agreed with Chair Holman that criteria was not the correct word usage. Council Member Espinosa said if the Committee went through a timeline and took each step individually that portion could be incorporated at the end of the Process heading. Chair Holman asked if the Committee agreed to a different heading, if moving the language under Criteria to the end, and whether the verbiage provided by Staff was acceptable. Council Member Klein believed the City Council passed the two items under criteria 1. There was a goal of no more than three priorities per year and 2. Priorities had a three year time limit. Chair Holman understood them to be comments made but not language recommended or voted on. Ms. Tucker agreed they were parameters that had guided Council in their review of the priorities. Council Member Klein recalled a discussion on the language. He believed there were different numbers in favor of and someone added language for a goal of no more than three. Council Member Schmid said on page seven of the packet, item 10 read: There should be no more than three priorities within a year. Chair Holman clarified the language from the retreat. She did not disagree; however, if the goal was to have a more complete document those items should be towards the end. Addressing Council Member Klein’s comment EXCERPT MINUTES Page 9 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 regarding the number of priorities, she said they could make that recommendation. Council Member Espinosa suggested walking through the timeline of the entire process and see how it worked out. Chair Holman suggested for the time being adding Retreat in front of Criteria and maintaining the current language as listed by Staff. Retreat Criteria -the following criteria will guide Council’s review and adoption of its annual priorities: 1. There was a goal of no more than three priorities per year and 2. Priorities have a three year time limit. Council Member Klein preferred Retreat Decision Guidelines rather than Retreat Criteria. Council Member Schmid suggested Retreat Goals. Chair Holman questioned item 2 under the current heading of Criteria; priorities have a three year time limit. She asked if priorities should generally have a three year time limit. Council Member Klein did not feel the time line made a difference. Council Member Schmid felt the time line made a difference. If there was a three year limit some items such as City finances or land use did not have a three year time limit. Council Member Klein stated those comments were referring back to Definition. The idea was to move away from specific labels as Finances or Comprehensive Plan priorities. Certain items within a City were always a priority and if those same items were included each year what was the point of the process. Council Member Schmid noted the language began to exclude certain categories. Council Member Klein preferred to leave the three year time limit in and noted items could be brought back if needed. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER: to change the heading Criteria to Retreat Guidelines and moved to the bottom of the list. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 10 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Chair Holman moved on to the Process heading where there were several potential Brown Act issues and policy decisions to make. Council Member Espinosa said as the Committee walked through the process and achieved agreement it seemed the first step would be All Council Members solicited by Staff for recommendations on potential priorities for the upcoming year. Chair Holman asked who specifically Staff would be. Council Member Klein confirmed Staff would refer to the City Manager. Ms. Tucker agreed the City Manager would be the soliciting advocate. Council Member Schmid asked if there should be a limit placed on the number of recommendations being solicited. Council Member Espinosa agreed there should be a limited number of submissions, although he was not aware of what that should be. Council Member Klein concurred with the reasoning. Chair Holman asked if the suggested number was three. Council Member Schmid said the number the Committee was aiming for was three so he felt it was a reasonable number. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER: the first step would be All Council Members would be solicited by City Manager selected Staff for three recommendations on potential priorities for the upcoming year. Council Member Schmid wanted to discuss the newly elected Council Members and when their ideas should be registered. Chair Holman noted the earlier recommendation was for no additions accepted at retreat so if the newly elected were not involved early after their appointment their ideas would be left out of the process. She felt that needed to be addressed. Council Member Espinosa asked if that language should be added to the process somewhere. Council Member Klein agreed to the additional language. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 11 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Chair Holman asked how to address newly elected Council Members. Council Member Schmid suggested the addition of verbiage stating; New Council Members from the November election will be included in the solicitation process. Council Member Klein said timing was a consideration because three months prior to the retreat was October while the election was not until November. Chair Holman proposed the language could say upon election the City Manager would contact the newly elected Council Members for their input. Council Member Espinosa asked if there were concerns from the City Attorney regarding those persons who had been elected but not yet sworn in to the position. Ms. Stump clarified the Brown Act applied to any persons upon the elected or appointed process even if they had not been sworn in. Council Member Espinosa said his concern was although they had been receiving City Council packets for two months they may not have any context to the broader issues affecting the City for adequate input. Council Member Klein proposed the additional language to the “no additions to the retreat” rule that the newly elected Council Members who had not served were an exception to the rule. Council Member Espinosa believed that would place the Committee in a tough position. Chair Holman agreed and felt everyone should be treated the same. Council Member Klein said they could not be treated the same. The newly elected were in a different timeframe. He mentioned the Charter had an area that needed discussion for change with respect to when the newly elected Council Members take office. The surrounding cities elected take office earlier than Palo Alto elected. He was suggesting December 1st, right after the certification of the votes. Ms. Stump agreed the election votes were usually certified in the beginning of December. At the point where the votes were certified City Staff would be working with the newly elected to orient them to City policy and procedures. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 12 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Council Member Klein was comfortable having Staff solicit recommendations from newly elected Council Members once the votes had been certified. Chair Holman asked whether there were new suggestions allowed at the retreat by the newly elected. Council Member Klein said no. Council Member Schmid agreed no. Ms. Stump clarified there could be additions made up to the notice period which was 72 hours prior. Chair Holman stated the language in the process was different than the 72 hour window because the Staff needed time to collate so the Motion was for a one week ahead of the retreat. She suggested for the process, the City Manager would solicit suggestions from Council which would be sorted by priority. The City Manager will solicit a limit of three suggestions from each newly elected Council Member. There will be no additions at the retreat. Council Member Klein expected Staff to eliminate close redundancies in recommended ideas. Ms. Tucker said Council would approve the documents. The priorities applied to Council with regard to the retreat, priorities would have a three year time limit. Staff could analyze and provide this language in a document, based off language that was already adopted. Ms. Stump said if a Council Member made a suggestion that was barred by the three year limit rule the Committee may want to include language in the process on how Staff should manage them. Council Member Klein said redundancies should be added to the list with an asterisk. Chair Holman asked if there was a role for the Committee Chair to work with the City Manager’s office to organize the list. Council Member Schmid put forward the City Manager Staff would solicit the Council Members ideas three months prior to the retreat. He asked if there should be a time period set for the Committee to meet and confer with the results. It made sense in early December for the Committee to meet to receive the input from Staff on the collected proposed priorities. Once they EXCERPT MINUTES Page 13 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 had been reviewed and organized the Committee could establish the retreat work flow process. Chair Holman asked if the Committee could review the information without having it first be referred by the full Council. Ms. Stump confirmed the recommendation was to work with the input from all nine Council Members then work in Committee to organize and rephrase. Council Member Schmid said the organizing and rephrasing would only occur if necessary but the concept was to establish a process of ranking the priorities during the meeting for the retreat. Ms. Stump clarified procedural issues could be discussed at a later meeting. Council Member Klein believed the policy decisions should be completed prior to moving forward. Ms. Stump agreed the raw results could be attached to the Staff report for discussion. Chair Holman asked if number four would be for the City Manager Staff to collect and organize Council Members input into a list of priorities to be provided to Council no less than two weeks prior to the retreat. Council Member Espinosa clarified language should be added as a second sentence that Staff was authorized to delete redundancies in the list. Ms. Tucker asked if the Committee wished for Staff to complete an analysis on the top three. Council Member Klein said yes. Chair Holman confirmed the language for number four would be City Manager Staff would collect and organize Council Members input into a list of priorities to be provided to Council no less than two weeks prior to retreat. Council Member Espinosa wished to add language that provided Staff the authority to correct and eliminate redundancies. The term organizing meant to move items. Council Member Schmid mentioned summarizes. Chair Holman thought summarizes was too general. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 14 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Council Member Klein felt organize was the best solution. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER TO REVISE THE PREVIOUS INCORPORATION TO READ: the language for number four which was under the heading Process as Item 1B as City Manager Staff would collect and organize Council Members input into a list of priorities to be provided to the Council no less than two weeks in advance of the Council Retreat. Council Member Espinosa was uncertain where in the development process discussion would take place within the Committee. Before Staff solicitation or after the retreat and a resetting of priorities had occurred. Council Member Schmid questioned whether the recommendation was for the Committee to make a decision for Item 2A; Recommendations about the prioritization process will be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council Retreat. Council Member Espinosa asked if the Committee felt there were issues within the process that had not been discussed. Council Member Schmid mentioned the Council could have any number of consolidated priorities from 4 to 30. The Committee was set to recommend a process supposing a large number. The question was what the Committee was going to recommend to them to ease the procedure of regulating their recommendation to three. That was a decision needed without knowing the actual number from each Council Member. Council Member Espinosa had been accepting of the Committee Chair working with the City Manager to manage the process. There had been a recent desire to have ranked voting or other process decisions made before the retreat. The ranking process may be fluid but was dependent upon the number of priorities recommended each year. Chair Holman suggested submitting the process the Committee had completed to Council for the September meeting and they could make a decision after reviewing the recommendations. Council Member Klein was not satisfied submitting an incomplete document to the Council. Ms. Tucker asked if the Committee would be comfortable with the current process where the Staff worked with the Mayor prior to the retreat. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 15 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Council Member Klein agreed that was plausible. Council Member Espinosa did not see the urgency for getting the document to Council. Chair Holman noted the Staff report clearly stated the process of solicitation was to begin in October; therefore, the Council needed to see it in September. Council Member Klein said the Committee shall each year make a recommendation regarding the process of the retreat taking into account the number of priorities suggested by Council Members with such process to be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council retreat. Council Member Espinosa mentioned the Council had up to two weeks prior to the retreat to supply input. Council Member Klein believed only the newly elected Council Members had up to two weeks prior to supply input. Chair Holman suggested upon election the City Manager would invite newly elected Council Members to submit priority suggestions but there was no time line. Council Member Espinosa felt there needed to be a time line initiated in order for the Committee to have time to review. Council Member Schmid recommended after certifications of the election which would usually be two weeks after the election. Chair Holman asked when the suggested submitted by date should be. Council Member Klein stated December 10th. Chair Holman stated there would need to be a special Policy & Services Committee meeting set annually to review the input. Council Member Espinosa recommended submission by December 1st and the input would be agendized for the regular Policy & services Committee meeting in December. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER: the language for number four which was under EXCERPT MINUTES Page 16 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 the heading Process as Item 2A should read The Policy & Services Committee shall meet each December to make recommendations regarding the design of the Council Retreat process paying particular attention to the number of priorities suggested by Council Members. The process was to be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council retreat. Ms. Tucker was reviewing the schedule in order for Staff to supply the information to the Committee for review and submission to the Council for adoption two weeks prior to the retreat. Council Member Klein wanted the timing of the retreat varied each year. Ms. Tucker noted it was usually mid to late January of each year. Chair Holman said 2b currently read, Staff will evaluate the process each year, with input from Council Members, and provide recommendations on changes to the process and/or criteria as necessary. She suggested the language be changed to reflect the Policy & Service Committee evaluate the process. Council Member Klein recommended eliminating the language. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER: to eliminate the language under the header Process Item 2B “Staff will evaluate the process each year, with input from Council members, and provide recommendations on changes to the process and/or criteria as necessary”. Council Member Schmid confirmed a prior inclusion to the Motion moved the header Retreat Guidelines (former Criteria) to the end of the process. He felt it would be appropriate to add a Guiding Goals section to the front. The idea would be for anyone who looked at the process to know there would be three priorities with a three year period. Chair Holman agreed there was merit to the suggestion and if it was agreed by the Maker and Seconder she would move the ”No additional priorities rule” to that new section. Council Member Klein thought that language was already part of the process. Council Member Espinosa agreed it should stay as part of the process. EXCERPT MINUTES Page 17 of 17 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting FINAL Excerpt 7/10/12 Chair Holman asked if there was agreement on the location of the Retreat Guidelines. Council Member Klein stated the location was not as important as the content. Council Member Espinosa was in agreement on the location. Ms. Tucker asked for clarification on the header being Retreat Guidelines or Retreat Goals. Chair Holman confirmed it was Retreat Guidelines. Council Member Klein stated the title was Guidelines for Selection of Priorities. MOTION PASSED: 4-0 Council Member Klein left at 7:32 p.m. City of Palo Alto (ID # 2735) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Report Type: Meeting Date: 4/10/2012 April 10, 2012 Page 1 of 4 (ID # 2735) Summary Title: Council Priority Setting Process Title: Discussion and Recommendation on Council Priority Setting Process From: City Manager Lead Department: City Manager Staff has prepared this report as background in support of the Policy and Services Committee discussion and recommendation on the City Council’s priority setting process. Background On January 21, 2012, the City Council held its Annual Council Retreat and reviewed its top priorities for 2012-13. After some discussion, the Council decided to carryover the following five Council Priorities from 2011-12: 1. City Finances 2. Land Use and Transportation 3. Emergency Preparedness 4. Environmental Sustainability 5. Community Collaboration for Youth Well Being In addition, the City Council referred to the Policy and Services Committee to review the definition of Council priorities and recommend to the Council any changes to the priority setting process. This report provides background information on the City Council’s establishment of the priority setting process, past practice and key assumptions, and summarizes the City Council’s discussion at the Annual Retreat on the priority setting process. 2 Packet Pg. 35 1.a Packet Pg. 5 -: A t t a c h m e n t A . 4 - 1 0 - 2 0 1 2 P o l i c y a n d S e r v i c e s S t a f f R e p o r t ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ) April 10, 2012 Page 2 of 4 (ID # 2735) Discussion The City Council adopted its first Council priorities in 1986. The establishment of Council priorities originated from Council’s desire to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making. It was envisioned that Council priorities should denote issues that are important matters to the community and that warrant an intensified effort during the fiscal year. It was further believed by designating a priority, Council sends a message to the organization and the community that heightened attention and resources are to be directed toward the issue. Each year the City Council reviews the priorities at its Annual Retreat. The process for establishing the priorities has ranged from more formal processes of Council submitting priorities and scoring proposals to more informal reviews and discussions at Council Retreats. In past years, the objectives and milestones that reflect the work necessary to fullfill the priorities have also been reviewed and established by the City Council either at their Annual Retreat, by recommendation of the Policy and Services Committee or proposed by staff for Council consideration. Staff also found in its review of prior year’s priority setting processes that from 2002-2007 several staff reports indicate that the City Manager and the City Council agreed on the following assumptions regarding the Council’s priorities: 1. If everything is a priority, nothing is. 2. Major priorities require multi-years to achieve efforts. 3. The City’s budget must reflect the Council’s priorities. 4. Staff will provide Council with reports on success factors/milestones to ensure accountability. 5. Council and staff must communicate on a regular basis through a variety of means, and let the community know the status of the top Priorities. 6. Council and staff need to avoid adding new projects and activities to the “full plate.” This is a joint responsibility of Council and top management to keep from having attention diverted from priorities. It is important to recognize that 90 percent of the departments’ work is not on the list of priorities. 2 Packet Pg. 36 1.a Packet Pg. 6 -: A t t a c h m e n t A . 4 - 1 0 - 2 0 1 2 P o l i c y a n d S e r v i c e s S t a f f R e p o r t ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ) April 10, 2012 Page 3 of 4 (ID # 2735) 7. If the Council adds new projects and activities during the year, it is the responsibility of the City Manager to clearly indicate the impact on the top priorities and the ongoing workload. Additional policy direction in past years has included: 1) focus on a limited number of priorities, 2) align review of Council priorities to the two-year budget cycle, and 3) include primarily multi-year initiatives. January 21, 2012 Annual Council Retreat During the Annual Retreat held on January 21, 2012, the City Council discussed a number of issues related to the definition and process for establishing priorities. Below is a summary of the Council comments on these topics. At the time the staff report was prepared, the transcript from the Council Retreat was not available. 1. Establish a process by which the Council develops priorities. 2. Rethink what the Council is trying to accomplish with the priorities. 3. Establish a clear definition of priorities, goals, and focus so the community can clearly understand where the City is trying to accomplish throughout the year. 4. Recommend a structure for bringing forward priorities. 5. Propose a definition of what Council means by Council priorities. 6. The goals do not represent everything staff is working on or everything that is important. It is a way to communicate to the community some of the things of real importance. 7. Some goals fall under more than one category. 8. Establish what Council calls a priority and a goal. 9. The definition of a priority is an issue or topic which will receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year. 10. There should be no more than 3 priorities within a year. 11. Priorities should be prepared ahead of time with two colleagues signing off so staff can be prepared to discuss them at the beginning of the year in this type of retreat setting. 2 Packet Pg. 37 1.a Packet Pg. 7 -: A t t a c h m e n t A . 4 - 1 0 - 2 0 1 2 P o l i c y a n d S e r v i c e s S t a f f R e p o r t ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ) April 10, 2012 Page 4 of 4 (ID # 2735) 12. A broader conversation is needed about goals verses values verses priorities verses initiatives and what they really mean. 13. Develop focused workplan under each topic area. 14. Set forth, clean up and redefine the current goals; define what a goal is. 15. Refresh goals under each priority. 16. Council should not establish goals at retreat; only establish what priorities are. 17. Review goals for 2012, define the definition of a priority, and the process for selecting the Council priorities and establishing goals, and determine process for next retreat. Prepared By: Sheila Tucker, Assistant to the City Manager Department Head: James Keene, City Manager City Manager Approval: ____________________________________ James Keene, City Manager 2 Packet Pg. 38 1.a Packet Pg. 8 -: A t t a c h m e n t A . 4 - 1 0 - 2 0 1 2 P o l i c y a n d S e r v i c e s S t a f f R e p o r t ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ) Policy and Services Committee DRAFT ACTION MINUTES Page 1 of 2 Regular Meeting April 10, 2011 1. Review and Recommend Council Approval of Proposed Updated Massage Ordinance. MOTION: Council Member Klien moved, seconded by Council Member Espinosa, that the Policy and Services Committee refer the Massage Ordinance back to Staff to a) eliminate the records requirement, b) include an exemption for non‐certified massage practitioners, and c) review the remaining language to draft an ordinance with as light a hand as possible. MOTION PASSED 4‐0. 2. Discussion and Recommendation of Council Priority Setting Process MOTION: Council Member Klein moved, seconded by Council Member Schmid to place a context statement prior to the definition of a priority, to define a priority as an issue or topic which will receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year, and to have a three year time limit on priorities. There will be fixed list of priorities to consider at the retreat. The only items to be considered for priorities shall be those proposed in writing by Staff a week prior to the annual Council Retreat, or by one Council Member in time for inclusion in the packet for the annual Council Retreat. INCORPORATED INTO THE MOTION WITH THE CONSENT OF THE MAKER AND SECONDER the Policy and Services Committee will be the focus of establishing the process of integrating input from all Council Members on an equal basis and will start the process three months before the January session. AMENDMENT TO MOTION: Council Member Espinosa moved, seconded by Chair Holman to include a goal of no more than three priorities in a year. 1.b Packet Pg. 9 -: A t t a c h m e n t B . 4 - 1 0 - 2 0 1 2 P o l i c y a n d S e r v i c e s A c t i o n M i n u t e s ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ) DRAFT MINUTES Page 2 of 2 Policy and Services Committee Special Meeting Draft Action Minutes 4/10/12 AMENDMENT PASSED: 3‐1, Klein no MOTION RESTATED: Council Member Klein moved, seconded by Council Member Schmid to place a context statement prior to the definition of a priority, to define a priority as an issue or topic which will receive particular, unusual, and significant attention during the year. The Policy and Services Committee will be the focus of establishing the process of integrating input from all Council Members on an equal basis and will start the process three months before the January Retreat. There will be a fixed list of topics to consider at the Retreat. There will be a goal of no more than three priorities per year and there will be a three year time limit on priorities. Staff will prepare this procedure and return to the Committee prior to returning to the Council. MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED: 4‐0 3. Discussion on Policy and Services Committee Workplan Prioritization and Process for Handling New Business No Action ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m. 1.b Packet Pg. 10 -: A t t a c h m e n t B . 4 - 1 0 - 2 0 1 2 P o l i c y a n d S e r v i c e s A c t i o n M i n u t e s ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ) Attachment C City of Palo Alto City Council Priority Setting Process Last Revised: 7/2/2012 Last revised: Background The City Council adopted its first Council priorities in 1986. Each year the City Council reviews and approves its priorities at its Annual Council Retreat, typically held in January. On ______the City Council formally adopted the definition of a council priority, and the Council’s process and criteria to guide its annual review. Definition The establishment of Council priorities will assist the Council to better utilize time available for discussion and decision making. Priorities are issues that are important matters to the community that warrant an intensified effort during the fiscal year. By designating a priority, Council sends a message to the organization and the community to direct heightened attention and resources toward the issue. A Council priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular, unusual and significant attention during the year. Criteria The following criteria will guide Council’s review and adoption of its annual priorities: 1. There is a goal of no more than three priorities per year. 2. Priorities have a three year time limit. Process 1. Three months in advance of the City Council’s Annual Retreat, the Policy & Services Committee will initiate Council input on the priorities to be reviewed and considered at the Council Retreat. a. All Council members will have the opportunity for equal input on the priorities for consideration. b. Staff will collect and organize Council Members’ input into a fixed list of priorities and will provide to the Council no less than a week in advance of the Council Retreat. 2. The Policy & Services Committee may make recommendations about the design of the process and the Council’s review of priorities conducted at the annual Retreat. a. Recommendations about the prioritization process will be forwarded to Council for adoption in advance of the Council Retreat. b. Staff will evaluate the process each year, with input from Council members, and provide recommendations on changes to the process and/or criteria as necessary. 1.c Packet Pg. 11 -: A t t a c h m e n t C . C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s ( 3 0 0 2 : C o u n c i l P r i o r i t y S e t t i n g P r o c e s s )